Brownsville, Eagle Pass mayors send Congressman Tancredo critical letter

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - South Texas officials who oppose a border fence are stepping up their criticism of a Colorado congressman who favors the divider.

The mayors of Brownsville and Eagle Pass said Friday that U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo falsely suggested that they believe there is no border between the two countries.

In a letter Friday, Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada and Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, who is also chairman of the Texas Border Coalition, called the suggestion "ridiculously juvenile," and noted that the Rio Grande is a clear border between the United States and Mexico.

They accused Tancredo of committing a "Washington drive-by attack" and suggested that he "grow up."

At a congressional hearing this week, Tancredo said if people in Brownsville oppose the fence, they should build it around the north side of the border city - in effect, leaving the city on the Mexican side of the fence.

Tancredo's office released a statement Thursday saying that he had written to the two mayors clarifying his comments from a congressional hearing Monday.

"This is a matter of national importance, and the American public should not be asked to sit back and allow a handful of local governments and their friends in the 'open borders' lobby to exercise veto power over something that impacts not only our national security, but our national sovereignty," Tancredo said.

Tancredo, a Republican who has served five terms in the House, ran for president on a platform of opposing illegal immigration. He dropped out of the race in December after consistently polling at the bottom of a nine-person Republican field.

For more on this story, see Saturday's Brownsville Herald.